Bluegrass Gospel Music

History of Bluegrass Gospel Music

To trace the roots of this new and popular gospel music subgenre, you'll need to know a little bit about bluegrass music itself. This particular style of music emerged in the 1940s, most likely after the World War II and not before. As with most other types of music, no one person could be credited for its invention although Bill Monroe, who was part of the band Blue Grass Boys, is widely recognized nowadays as the music's founding father.

Later on, Monroe was joined by other notable bluegrass artists in the band, namely Earl Scruggs (banjo), Howard Watts (bass), Chubby Wise (fiddle), and Lester Flatt, who played the guitar and was one of the vocalists as well.

Together, they established the definitive standards for bluegrass music and their songs continue to serve as a pattern for up and coming artists today.

At the start, bluegrass was mostly played in rural festivals and used for clogging or flatfooting, a style of dance that had been quite popular in such areas. During those events, folk music had often been played by bluegrass artists, although they weren't called as such then.